None.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of explosion neutralizing devices used to safely contain and/or redirect the energy released by exploding bombs and land mines, specifically to a reusable bomb diffusing device having a core structure with all outer surfaces covered by a series of outwardly-extending and progressively upwardly-directed energy-absorbing vanes that are each fixed in position and separated from the next adjacent vane by an angle of approximately 3xc2x0, the device also having an outer chamber with solid side walls and a mesh top surface through which the fine debris and rapidly expanding gases from a blast is exhausted. A central bottom opening in the present invention permits placement directly over a bomb. Thus, it is moved to the location of a bomb, eliminating the inherent dangers associated with transport of a bomb to remote location for controlled detonation. Smaller present invention devices can be manually moved through the use of an upper handle, dolly, or other wheeled platform, while larger present invention devices can be adapted for movement via temporary or permanent attachment to a motorized vehicle. After detonation, the air/gases immediately surrounding the exploded device expands within the core structure and is directed to the vanes in vector geometry fashion, which reduce the gases"" energy and drive them upwards to exit the outer chamber through openings in its mesh top. After detonation, the present invention device remains substantially in its pre-explosion position and in an undamaged condition ready for subsequent use. Police and military applications are contemplated.
2. Description of the Related Art
The police and military personnel worldwide are repeatedly exposed to a risk of injury due to unexploded bombs and land mines, as are private citizens in certain countries recently affected by war. A variety of methods and devices have been used to either detonate the explosives in a controlled manner, or render them inert to allow for their safe disposal. Such methods and devices include but are not limited to spraying explosives with cryogenic materials to render them temporarily inert and allow for their safe disposal, remote activation systems that permit detonation at a safe distance, pre-detonation devices that initiate controlled burning of an explosive charge to avoid or lessen its detonation impact, microwave energy exploding devices that can be operated at a safe distance, use of small animals such as rats to seek out and destroy active mines or unearth and mark them for later removal, and neutralizing devices that comprise a housing placed over an explosive device with a casing and include at least one explosive charge that penetrates and opens the casing and forces reactive material into the explosive device to neutralize it without detonation. All of these known devices and methods have some disadvantage, such as special handling requirements, great expense, time consuming animal training, and the like. In contrast, the shape and construction of the present invention utilizes physics to redirect explosive forces. Thus, the present invention is typically undamaged by an explosion and repeatedly reusable without interim refurbishment or routine maintenance, the present invention can be used in areas having structures such as trees, buildings, fences, and motorized vehicles nearby without damage to such structures, and it can be moved to the site of a land mine or other explosive device via a motorized vehicle and remotely lowered into place. Further, it can be simply and relatively inexpensively made. There is no bomb diffusing device known with the same features and components as the present invention, nor all of its explosion neutralizing advantages.
The primary object of this invention is to provide a reusable bomb diffuser that is able to eliminate the safety hazards posed by non-detonated ordnance such as bombs and land mines, as well as other explosive devices, by detonating them in a controlled environment that is configured to reduce the velocity of the expanding gases and debris generated by the detonation while concurrently redirecting all laterally moving gases and debris for release in a substantially upward direction. It is also an object of this invention to provide a reusable bomb diffuser that can be repeatedly reused without interim refurbishment or maintenance. A further object of this invention is to provide a reusable bomb diffuser that can be used while remaining attached to a motorized vehicle. It is also an object of this invention to provide a reusable bomb diffuser that during detonation does not move substantially from its pre-detonation position. A further object of this invention is to provide a reusable bomb diffuser that is easy to construct and simple to use. It is also an object of this invention to provide a reusable bomb diffuser that is cost efficient to make and use when compared to the costs associated with other ordnance elimination devices.
As described herein, properly manufactured and used, the present invention is a repeatedly reusable explosion neutralizing device that is constructed to completely cover the top and sides of a bomb at the time of ignition, or be placed over the identified site of buried ordinance, such as a land mine. Its size is adapted during manufacture according to the intended explosives or ordnance use. The cumulative design of the vanes outwardly directed from its core structure and separated from one another in 3xc2x0 increments, cause the lower vanes to be placed in a substantially horizontally-extending position and the upper vanes to be aimed in a substantially vertically-extending position. Such positioning allows for nearly all of the outwardly expanding debris and gases from detonation to be driven upwards and reduced in energy by the vanes, with the walls of the outer chamber redirecting the gases and fine debris ii hitting it toward the mesh openings in the outer chamber""s top surface. Bernoulli""s Law states that xe2x80x9cwhen a gas is accelerated, its pressure and temperature dropxe2x80x9d. Thus, the gases within the core structure of the present invention are forced outward beyond the vanes and upward at a reduced velocity, as well as against the solid side walls of the outer chamber at a reduced velocity. After total expansion, the radiant gases exiting the core structure between the vanes will cause an implosive reaction within the core structure as the incoming gases equalize pressures therein back to atmospheric pressure. Further, since according to Newton""s third law xe2x80x9cFor every action there is an equal and opposite reactionxe2x80x9d, and since the upwardly directed gases move through the top mesh at a reduced velocity, the outer chamber is held to the ground instead of being vertically lifted during a detonation. The vanes are at least one-eighth of an inch thick, to prevent their collapse during use. Although attachment of the vanes could theoretically be by any means able to withstand the maximum explosive forces anticipated during use, the vanes in the most preferred embodiment of the present invention are welded in place against the core structure. Thus, the present invention safely redirects the expanding gases released by a bomb, land mine, or other ordnance, and during an explosion the outer chamber does not move substantially from its pre-detonation position. Since the vanes deflect expanding gases through the spaces between them, and the solid side walls of the outer chamber are impacted by gases having a reduced velocity, the core structure and outer chamber are not damaged during use and can be reused many times without interim refurbishment or maintenance. The reduced velocity also causes a change in direction for laterally moving larger particulate debris after it passes between the vanes, whereby it tends to accumulate on the bottom surface of the outer chamber between its solid side walls and the base of the core structure therein, instead of moving upward and through the mesh openings in the outer chamber""s top surface. Since the present invention does not move significantly during a detonation, it could be used while attached to a motorized vehicle as long as safety shield is placed over any vehicle windows directly facing the outer chamber. Since the present invention has no motor, no moving parts, and a simple design, it is easy to construct. It is also safety enhancing and simple to use. Instead of the people wanting explosive device detonation having to move it to a containment device, the present invention is readily and promptly movable into position directly over the explosive device via a handle, rod or pole, or motorized vehicle that can remotely lower the present invention over the explosive device. Detonation of an explosive device positioned under the present invention can be activated remotely, whereafter all of the gases exiting the outer chamber do so through the mesh openings in its top surface. Although the outer chamber could have many configurations, a conical configuration with a circular cross-section is preferred, as such a structure permits a thinner wall dimension than would be required for an outer chamber having the cross-sectional configuration of a rectangle or other closed angular structure.
While the description herein provides preferred embodiments of the present bomb diffuser invention, it should not be used to limit its scope. For example, variations of the present invention, while not shown and described herein, can also be considered within the scope of the present invention, such as variations in the number, placement, and size of the reinforcement stiffeners used against the solid side walls of the outer chamber; the type of material used to make the core structure and outer chamber; the configuration of the openings in the mesh top of the outer chamber; the height, width, and length dimensions of the core structure and the outer chamber; the configuration of the portion of the core structure supporting the vanes; the type of attachment means used with the outer chamber for its movement from one location to another between detonation uses; and the number and thickness of the vanes attached to the core structure. Thus, the scope of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than being limited to the examples given.